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As expected, both Deng Adel and Ray Spalding will “test the NBA Draft waters” this offseason. They made their intentions known following Tuesday night’s loss to Mississippi Sate in the NIT quarterfinals.
Louisville junior Deng Adel also confirms he will test the NBA waters again this year. Says he hasn’t thought about if he’ll turn pro or not once he does workouts and goes to the combine.
— Jody Demling (@jdemling) March 21, 2018
Louisville forward Ray Spalding says he plans to test the NBA draft waters but not hire an agent to leave open the option of returning to school for his senior year.
— Jeff Greer (@jeffgreer_cj) March 21, 2018
I know it’s still sort of jarring when you see headlines like this, but a reminder that “declaring for the draft” doesn’t mean what it meant three years ago.
Any player can now declare themselves eligible for the draft, go through some of the pre-draft process, and then decide in May that they’re going to return to school for another year. They can then go through the entire process again the next season. For instance, Adel did this last year.
“I’m going to take the approach that (Deng Adel) took last year, testing the waters,” Spalding said last night. “Seeing what’s out there, you can’t lose anything.”
He’s right.
Although not everyone is taking advantage of the system.
Ryan McMahon told reporters that he does not plan to enter the NBA Draft after the season.
— Eric Crawford (@ericcrawford) March 21, 2018
Ryan’s always been decisive.